Wednesday, March 9, 2011

My dear client Carrissa came to me with her latest project recently. Just over a year ago I created the cutest nautical baby shower invites for her shower. Now her little Dean is going to be turning one soon! Her party theme was to be pirates. She sent me photos of Dean's bedding and his Halloween costume. All of which were pirate related. The proof I sent to Carrissa didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped. But after a few of her fabulous ideas the final design was a hit! I can't wait to see pictures of the party.

To set the stage for your party you have to first start with the invites. They can help to determine the colors for the rest of the party. You may consider doing cupcake toppers (example below) to match the party. If you can get your hands on an old truck fill it with swords and tripoint pirate hats. This will give the kids some amusement. For a cute favor a bag of chocolate coins. For my parties I love to mix modern items with vintage pieces. Check out your local thrift and antique stores for cheap items. Wooden candlestick holders would be great down the table. Although I don't suggest lighting them for smaller kid parties. A banner makes a great backdrop for the party as well. And to welcome your guests a lawn sign.

Please feel free to comment on how you would decorate your Pirate Party!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Recently I was asked to be the featured artist for a local shop during Gallery Walk. I was so excited about the opportunity. The only problem is all of my work is custom. There isn't anything that can be purchased right on the spot. The shop hosting me is Klassy Kids Consignment Shoppe. I was trying to think of something kid related and fun. I don't have any children of my own yet. But I have tons of nieces, nephews and my friends kids. I refer to all of them as my little peanuts. My friend Tina's son Max was mad when I scolded him at a hockey game recently. He told me he is not my peanut anymore! LOL

So this got me to thinking about nicknames. We all had them as kids. And now that we have children we have one if not 3+ nicknames for them. My nicknames as a kid are as follows, string bean, bean pole, beaner, bean, bubble butt, brenda, butch and blondie. The one that has lasted through time is bean or beaner. Most of these do not translate well for this project. But peanut definitely does! So I thought what better way to decorate your child's room than with a print with their nickname on it! So the first print to start the process was Peanut.

Peanut was a little daunting at first. I wasn't sure if I could do it justice in such a simple form. Then I considered giving it a background...no that didn't look quite right...back to white. The final design made me proud. Thanks to all of my facebook friends and fans I got tons of great ideas for more! What to hear them? Here we go....pumpkin, sweet pea, monkey, cupcake, peanut, duck, gator, sweet heart, sweetie pie, princess, prince, button (cute as), jelly bean, honey bee, sunshine and lady bug. Not all of them are created yet. The fun has just begun!